Summertime Randoms

Yesterday I wrote about how I love the abundance of fruits and veggies that summertime brings. I do love it but it can also be a problem if you go a little too crazy (like me) and buy too much stuff. I cannot stand to let these summertime treats go to waste but as everyone knows you have to eat your perishables in a couple of days or bye bye fruit.

What I have been doing when I have left over fruits or veggies is a couple of different things. 1st I like to drink water. Lately I have been making all manner of fruit and veggie waters and I put it in a big water jug and leave it out on my counter and just refill my glass whenever I walk by. Yesterday I made peach/cherry water. Today it is watermelon water. You can throw your extra cucumbers or cherry tomatoes in. Or make lemon basil water. There are endless possibilities. It also looks nice and tempts you to drink more water.

The second thing I have been doing is making all kinds of pestos and tapenades. These are great to have on hand because they freeze well and then you have an instant go to for soups and sauces. You can put them in your scrambled eggs or on a sandwich or whatever. Again, endless possibilities and it really enhances your everyday food.

I recently had a bunch or Arugula micro greens leftover so I made arugula pesto and added a dollop to some veggie soup and it was delicious.

Here is the soup recipe:

6 or 8 cups chicken broth or whatever you have (homemade is preferable)

1 sweet onion-diced

Cannellini Beans

Canned whole tomatoes

Summer peas

1 clove garlic-smashed

1 parmesan cheese rind

1 handful orzo

Salt & pepper

2 Carrots-diced

Pesto

Bring your broth to a boil. Add onion, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, cheese rind & salt and pepper. In a separate pot cook the orzo. When the orzo is done add the beans to the soup. Spoon orzo into individual bowls and top with the soup. Swirl a little pesto into the soup bowls and serve.

1 other tip that my good friend Margaret recently shared with me is to freeze your leftover wine and then you can use it to cook with and it won’t go to waste. I love this tip and have found it to be really useful!